The Second Stone
by MiyuTanemura
Summary: "Natsu woke up. Looked around and realized that he was at the guild, in the largest room. Which was in disarray. He might even call it wrecked. He blinked owlishly, it seemed like they'd had a hell of a party the previous night. The biggest party yet. But he didn't remember it." Belated Bday fic to some friends. Natsu/Gray. Gore, self-cest, non-con elements, WTF-ness, sickness.


**A/N:** Extremely belated bday fic to my friends. Dedicating it to Subkulture and Cristallina, even if it might not be overly to the later's taste...

Unfortunately it didn't come out exactly as well as I wanted it to but, well, I tried. Hopefully it's still a semi-decent read. Or maybe not, it was quite difficult to put down into words those things. Haha... OTL

Unbetaed.

 **Warnings:** Gore, Self-cest, Non-con elements, WTF-ness, Sickness.

* * *

 **The Second Stone**

Natsu woke up. Looked around and realized that he was at the guild, in the largest room. Which was in disarray. He might even call it wrecked.

It was truly an immense disarray as there were walls crumbling, broken tables and most of the guild's members seemed to be scattered on the floor throughout the large space.

He blinked owlishly, it seemed like they'd had a hell of a party the previous night. The biggest party yet.

But he didn't remember it.

Slumping back against the wall he tried to think, tried to remember what had happened on the previous night.

His thoughts were too foggy, his body sluggish. Natsu let out a sigh and closed his eyes.

He had to remember what had happened.

* * *

This wasn't a day like usual. There was a lot of excitement in the air regarding the incoming evening.

They were going to have a celebration at the guild that would put any other celebration from before to shame. Some were even calling it the party of parties.

And it was a good thing. Everything was setting up for an awesome night.

Then, come night, the party was in full swing. Natsu went through the overly decorated and lit gates to head to the large room where everything was set up. Everywhere around him people – both guild members and townspeople – seemed to be having fun, eating and drinking and talking and dancing. Music was floating above, entwined with the tantalizing scents.

 _A sense of urgency took over him. Everything was confusing with screams and fear resounding all around him._

Natsu was getting to the guild a little bit behind schedule, having been distracted with the time – so he had had to run – and so he had to find his friends.

 _There are images flashing before his eyes, nearly too fast to be comprehended, a rushed succession of dark flames, eyes open wide and looking at him with fear._

He met with people, chatted here and there with friends, snatching a little bit of food from a table to munch on as he tried to find his friends.

When he finally saw the group sat at a table he had to stop and blink confusedly as there seemed to be two images, superimposed. But it didn't make sense. He didn't even understand how he could be seeing two things with such definition at the same time.

In one of the images Erza, Happy, Lucy, Juvia and Gray – and other guild members to whom he wasn't quite paying attention to – were sat at the table and looking at him with their usual expressions, an air of happiness and fun about them. And yet at the same time, on the other image his friends were still looking at him but they looked pale and bloody – the blood was so stark among the greyness that seemed to have been painted over them! – masks of horror etched on their faces and expressions.

* * *

Natsu opened his eyes and found himself in a room. It was dark but he saw a sliver of light shine in front of himself that spoke of reflection so it probably meant that there was a mirror somewhere in the room. He looked around but could only see slightly darker shadows that contrasted to the overall darkness. He could hear the ticking of a clock, measuring the time away. And then his instincts startled him for they informed him that there was someone else in the room with him. And that's when he saw it, a shadow that moved.

Before he could do much of anything, the lighting in the room started to appear, allowing Natsu to take in the place he was in.

To his right there was a large grandfather clock, noisily ticking and setting a sense of urgency. Natsu noted that but continued to look at the rest of the furniture. He was sat on a comfortable chaise-longue the dark red fabric in contrast with the dark wood of the frame which was accompanied by a large coffee table in the same wood, to his left there was a wall that was completely covered by heavy blue curtains and, if he looked back two large paintings of rural landscapes covered the wall.

And before him, there it was, the mirror. It was big. It covered most of the wall in front of him.

On the other side of the mirror the room was the same. Grandfather clock, sofa and table, curtains and paintings. Though… Natsu squinted and realized how the paintings were different, instead of having pastel blues, greens, yellows and the pinpricks of bright colours, there was darkness, large areas of a repulsive mix of black, grey and brown, small red dots giving off an aura of evilness.

And in front of Natsu there was what seemed to be a mirrored reflection of himself. Only, instead of having pink hair, it was black and covered by a hat. He had deep dark circles under his eyes, and his ears were riddled with piercings – and he also had one on his lower lip, glinting from the smirk pointed at him. His clothes were black too, a jacket that had a number of buckles and no scarf. He was also sat on the other side's chaise-longue, seemingly taking Natsu in.

The fire mage felt ill-at-ease with what he was seeing, his gut feeling telling him that it wasn't _right_.

And when the smirk became a smug smile, Natsu couldn't help but feel his hackles rise.

"Finally. Took you long enough to get here." His voice told him. Natsu's eyes widened. And then he frowned.

"What do you mean? Where is _here_?"

"What do you think?" The question was asked airily but Natsu could sense that the other Natsu had wanted to add " _moron_ " to the sentence.

"I don't _know_. So tell me!"

"Very well." The other Natsu seemed to say in a long suffering tone. "This is the stage before the last act."

"Yeah, I don't know what the fuck you're talking about. I want to go."

"Go? Where?" The other Natsu asked.

"Home. To the guild, of course."

"You just came from there." The other Natsu huffed a laugh. "Buuuut… I think that we could start at the beginning." He leaned back, one arm thrown over the arm of the chaise.

"As you finally saw your friends and got to the table, not everything went as usual. See, your friends took a look at you and – bunch of smart people, well, kind of – they could sense that something was strange because their expressions changed, the air became charged, in that little table at least, and they looked quite discomforted." He paused for a beat to wait for Natsu's reaction. Since there was none, he continued. "Then that blue cat – and how do you have the patience for him? Such a nuisance!" He smirked at the furious noise Natsu made, "tried to throw caution to the wind and approach you, as usual. Let's say that it was a _wrong move_ …" Yet another pause with a smug smile, the piercing glinting menacingly in the low lighting. "You grabbed him by the head and, none-too-gently, I must add, and threw him somewhere." Natsu's dark reflection straightened from the relaxed position and leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees as he took in Natsu's reaction.

Natsu stood up.

"What the fuck happened to Happy?" He all but yelled.

"How should I know?" The reflection answered nonchalantly. "Of course that after that everyone around that table got silent. Heh," he snorted. "I think that sepulchral silence might be adequate here. Even if there was noise overall." He rambled. "But even that apparently spread out fast. It seems like things catch up quite quickly over there, no?"

Yet, Natsu was seeing himself sitting at the table with his friends, being teased because of the laden plate that was in front of him, where he talked and laughed as he dug in.

Surrounding them was more laughter and music, filling every nook and cranny with merriment and happiness.

The fire mage couldn't help gulping as a bad feeling started spreading in the pit of his stomach.

* * *

 _The air was dry, the walls were of a sandy yellow. It gave an impression of both confinement and openness as it was difficult to see where the room ended and the floor began, as the floor was compacted sand. However, upon a closer look, the grooves on the rocks were a good help with discerning the multitude of stone blocks of which the walls were made of._

 _It was quite the astounding contrast with the place outside. Everyone in the team was baffled, exchanging weirded-out looks._

 _For, outside, the rundown mansion was surrounded by greenery. Granted, the garden was in disarray, some vegetation even taking over the side of the mansion, cracking the stone and peeling the old paint. But the lush and glossy greens didn't prepare the team for what they were going to see inside._

 _Everything had seemed normal until the moment when they got inside, to that immensely strange corridor where there was no moisture in the air, where everything was stale and dry._

 _There were some traps along the way, but Natsu took care of them. Lucy joked with Gray that Natsu should always go ahead for the traps, as his enhanced senses were extremely handy._

 _They got to a crossroad of sorts, three smaller corridors that led to wooden doors. After a brief conversation they decided to separate, Lucy and Erza went to the one on the left, Gray to the one in front and Natsu to the one on the right._

 _The fire mage walked cautiously, on high alert in case of some unpleasant surprise decided to jump him. But nothing came. When Natsu approached the door – and yes, it was made of thick dark wood – he noticed that it was meant to slide to be opened. He did so. Inside there were lit torches lining the walls and there was no window. Natsu's nose twitched slightly. He was suspicious._

 _But, he needed to inspect the room, to see if the artefact was there or not._

 _Cautiously, Natsu took a step inside, he looked around and took in the differences. The walls were still of stone but they were now painted. Rich reds and greens framed what looked like a story that was being told in the walls. The room had some objects inside, also. In the middle there was a large block of marble stone, black and white veins running through it. On top, which had been polished smooth, sat a black flower. There were also some chests sitting close to the wall to Natsu's left which the fire mage thought about investigating after._

 _He took another step forward, towards the altar and suddenly there was a_ click _._

 _Under his foot, sand started whooshing out, as if being blown by a tempestuous wind, which allowed Natsu to catch a glimpse of what looked like a seal._

 _The whole room started to rumble, what seemed like a guttural noise coming from the ground, making everything shake, the walls that seemed to be so tightly packed had the blocks of stone nearly dancing, grinding against each other._

 _A flash of yellow light engulfed everything, Natsu included, making the fire mage let out a noise that bounced on the walls, quickly being engulfed by the rumble._

 _Cold started slithering through Natsu before, at the same time that the flash went off, it shot through the fire mage, running from his head to his toes._

 _Breath got caught on Natsu's throat._

 _And then everything stopped._

 _Natsu fell to his knees and gasped for air, eyes wide at the strangeness of what had just occurred._

 _With a few blinks and a shake of his head Natsu caught himself. He shrugged and stood, brushing off both the sand from his hands and knees but also the_ off _feeling that was still ringing inside of him._

 _'No. It's nothing.' He told himself._

 _That was when the others got to him, looking alarmed._

 _"Are you okay?" Lucy asked._

 _"We heard you yell something." Erza added, glancing around._

 _"No, I'm okay." Natsu brushed off their worries, attempting nonchalance. "I kind of tripped and nearly fell. But, look," he pointed at the flower on the altar, "that's not what we're looking for but it's quite strange, right?"_

 _"I wouldn't say strange." Lucy said as she tilted her head to the side, pointer finger tapping on her chin. "But it is pretty. I think it's onyx."_

 _"Let's just get this over with, can we?" Gray asked, his voice clearly denoting that he was rolling his eyes._

 _"Yes." Erza agreed. "The sooner we find the artefact, the sooner we'll get back home."_

 _"This place is kind of creepy…" Lucy mumbled, for the fiftieth time that afternoon._

 _Everybody let out a sigh._

* * *

Natsu sat down on the chaise-longue, seething.

On the other side of the mirror he could see his dark counterpart sitting back relaxed, hands in his pockets as he observed Natsu. That damn smug smile hadn't left his lips yet.

After a few loaded silent moments, he let out an exasperated breath and straightened up, leaning forward again, elbows on his knees and the tips of the fingers from both hands touching.

"Very well. I'll explain." He said in a long-suffering tone. "The thing is, you're sick."

"W-what?" Natsu said after a few stunned moments.

"Yes, it's a sickness that only attacks dragons and dragonslayers…"

Natsu felt a pang in his chest at that.

 _"Don't forget, Natsu, it might be a long forgotten sickness but it is still out in the world." Igneel had said in one sunny afternoon._

 _Natsu had been rolling on the grass moments before but now he was sitting with crossed legs and looking attentively at the dragon. His usual expression for when something important was being said was on his face. His hands were plucking blades of grass distractedly._

 _"So, we have to be extra careful, right?"_

 _"Yes, you don't know when the_ Malum Aureus _will strike – or from where. It is a nearly forgotten dark magic that was created to get rid of dragons." The dragon paused as if the words left a bad taste in his maw. "It will affect you too so you should run away before…"_

"Oh, you know of it. Right. _Igneel_." The last word was said with a twist of his lips, tone carrying some disgust. "So you know that it is highly contagious, that it propagates through the air. And will quickly catch on the closer dragons," he made a wave with his hand, "or dragonslayers."

"You…"

"The only thing I regret right now is that Gajeel and Wendy weren't at the guild that night." He said dramatically. "Otherwise we'd be having a lot of fun already."

"Leave those two alone!" Natsu shouted, jumping to his feet once again.

"It's just a matter of time now…" The other waved him off distractedly before his eyes took a sharp edge, glinting maliciously. "Do you still remember what happened next?"

Natsu glared at the other as he sat down, fists clenched so that his knuckles were white.

"I'll freshen your memory, shall I?" He said gleefully. "As you know, the _Malum Aureus_ will spread through your being and basically whittle away at your core until the rational, some say the human, part will be locked away and taken over by a raging beast, your inner self and how, truthfully, all the dragons and dragonslayers are, beasts whose only purpose is destruction."

"That's a _lie_!" Natsu raged.

"That's the _truth_." Natsu's dark reflection said calmly with a sharp intonation of the last word.

Natsu shuddered, feeling the word raking down his spine, sharp claws embedding themselves in his flesh.

* * *

Natsu's mind was still reeling over the massive realization.

He just couldn't wrap his thoughts around the awfulness he'd just learned, the awareness of the new reality.

 _The fire mage could see himself in the middle of the crowd, surrounded by his guild mates, laugher and music, as he danced with Lucy. They stumbled here and there, which elicited small bursts of laughs as they held onto the other so as not to fall to the floor. The celestial mage's eyes were twinkling in amusement, a pleased smile on her lips._

Yet, at the same time, he could see himself grabbing the blonde mage, holding her in a mockery of an embrace and his clawed hands reached up onto her back, the tips of claws piercing flesh and ripping her back to shreds, followed by her chest. Blood splattered over him and onto the floor but he didn't pay any mind, going for the trachea.

A gut-wrenching scream still resounding in his ear.

 _Natsu could see himself beside Mirajane, on the small step that was used for the musicians and, more often than not, Mirajane. He and the other mage were laughing, a shared glance between them showed the complicity. Natsu started singing, a bawdy tune flowing from his lips that was quickly picked up by her followed by clapping and more and more guild members joining and singing._

Followed by how Natsu had stood behind her and broken her limbs in quick succession, before anyone could do anything, a quick jab at her ribs had made them pierce through her lungs. As they started filling with blood, she fell to the floor as she was no longer being held by the fire mage. Mirajane started gurgling on her own blood.

Natsu laughed.

" _You know, Mira, that's the best you've ever sang_." He could hear himself say in a mocking voice.

* * *

 _With an exhale, Natsu opened his eyes._

 _He didn't know where he was as he could only see high walls made of rough grey stone, the ground in reddish-brown dirt._

 _As Natsu started walking he quickly came to a conclusion._

 _He was in a maze._

 _The more he walked, the more dead-ends he found._

 _An anxious feeling started taking over him, the feeling of being trapped. Of having nowhere to run to._

 _From above he could hear laughter. And since it was his voice, he could only assume that it was his dark reflection, the sick part of himself._

 _The mocking words and laughter bounced around in the walls, the echoes making them never-ending._

 _Natsu's breathing turned to quick gasps, the air not reaching his lungs as it should. Natsu felt the urge to cover his ears and huddle down, make himself small, make himself a smaller target. Alas, that didn't help him from keeping listening to the echoes, which began to resound inside him._

 _In the distance a different noise echoed. It was the sound of what appeared to be stones falling._

 _Once._

 _Twice._

 _And then there was only silence._

* * *

Natsu saw himself with Gray, standing behind a column. The usual greetings were exchanged, in the form of insults and jeers. Their expressions went from mocking to friendly in an instant before Natsu, pressed against Gray, plastering the ice mage's back to the cold stone.

They were hidden in the shadow, the brightness and noise a bit away.

The shadow made the stone colder than usual, Natsu noticed as his hand pressed against it but Gray didn't react overly besides a small grunt, even though he was shirtless. The perks of being an ice mage, the thought flitted through the fire mage's mind sardonically.

Their lips met in a kiss, first a simple brush of lips that then grew in passion and sloppiness. Gray's hands also moved, one went up to grasp at the fire mage's hair, the other at the shoulder. The passionate kiss grew filthier, the two mages' bodies moving slightly, adjusting better to the meant positions. Natsu's lips started moving then, slowly sliding down the ice mage's neck to his collarbone, to suckle there. One of his legs slyly sliding between Gray's.

They could both feel the other's excitement.

By mutual accord, they started moving against the column, one of Gray's legs curling around Natsu's waist.

It didn't take long before hands plunged under waistbands and curled around the other's erection. Together they stroked in a rhythm, their foreheads pressing together, nearly breathing the same air.

Words were mumbled against the other's lips, laughs and the odd giggle were bit down as they hurried towards completion.

"And you call me exhibitionist, you perv'…" Gray said breathily to Natsu just before they came together.

Instants later, they sagged and slid down to the floor, still in each other's arms.

 _Yet, at the same time, he saw himself throwing Gray against a wall, momentarily stunning the ice mage who took one moment too long to catch his bearings again. Natsu didn't let him, coming on top of him in no time, pressing the ice mage against the stone wall._

 _He yanked Gray's head to the side and bit down –_ hard _. So hard that the flesh of the side of the throat started getting ripped. Blood splattered both their forms as well as the floor, warm and too red even in the semi-darkness. Spitting the chunk of flesh to the floor, Natsu could both see and feel the weakness taking over the other's body, spreading out gradually with all the blood that flowed out._

 _His hand brushed against Gray's face, smearing it in blood, in a show of mock-affection and showcasing Natsu's cruelty. Moments later his weight was pinning Gray to the wall, Natsu could see the small twinkle of awareness that showed him that Gray wasn't gone yet. Suffering a lot and with just a few instants to live, yes, but still alive for the moment. For what he needed, that was enough. Natsu plunged his hand inside Gray's trousers, curling his hand, possessively, in a most likely too painful grip on the other's junk. He let out a laugh._

 _Finally Natsu pressed a bloodied kiss to the other's lips before letting the body sag onto the floor, falling in a disgraceful heap._

 _But Natsu just turned on his heel and left._

 _Without a look back._

Erza was leaning against a wall, watching the celebration as she sipped one of the new drinks that had been brought.

Her demeanour was the usual super serious one, it didn't change when she noticed Natsu but after a long moment, she let a small smile come to her lips.

"Enjoying the party?" She asked teasingly.

"Hell yeah. No-one else celebrates like we do!" Natsu replied. Then he caught himself and a naughty smile settled on his lips. "But it could be better. I demand a rematch at arm-wrestling!"

"Are you sure that you can take it?" Erza asked, drinking the rest of her drink in one go.

Their exchange was beginning to catch the attention of some of the guild-members nearby.

"Of course I can! I'm much stronger than last time!" Natsu said with a whoop.

Laughter surrounded them.

"You can do it Natsu!" Someone said.

"Teach him a lesson Erza!" Another person said.

The two nodded at each other and headed towards a free table.

"I'll get you now!" Natsu promised.

"I'm waiting…" Erza replied as they got in position.

 _Natsu couldn't help but cringe at the serious, nearly murderous, look Erza was throwing at him. Contrary to the other scene – that he kept seeing at the same time – the air of seriousness continued for way too long._

 _It wasn't a look Natsu had been under often, heck, he'd never faced Erza as a true foe and that was the_ look _– the look Erza shot at her enemies when shit was about to hit the fan._

 _And then, in the blink of an eye she lunged at him._

 _But Natsu dodged._

 _He realized that she was changing armour for something more adequate but another detail caught his attention._

 _By the corner of his eye he could see black flames._

 _He scrunched up his face, wondering about their provenience but, with a glance downwards, he realized that it was him._

 _The flames were coming from his hands._

 _More._

 _The skin from his hands and arms was becoming lizard-like, an unpleasant itch spreading through his body._

 _When he looked up he saw Erza and all the others, his friends, melting before his own eyes. The melted bags of meat becoming disgusting puddles on the floor._

* * *

A gasp caught on Natsu's throat, he felt like he might choke, he felt bile raise up in his throat.

He caught himself on the coffee table, kneeling on the floor and gasping, sweat sticking his hair to his brow.

He was back in the room, the mirror and his dark reflection staring mockingly at him.

"You're going to tell me the truth now." He demanded, slowly standing and flopping into the chaise-longue's seat, limbs aching. "Everything… all of that was a lie, an illusion – a _nightmare!_ It didn't happen."

His tirade only got him mocking laughter.

Natsu's dark reflection was laughing so hard that he was doubled over.

"A lie?" He said between gasps for air. "No, that was the absolute truth." He smiled sharply.

"That can't be true. I didn't…" Natsu cut himself off, hands raising in exasperation. "I would never!"

"But that's where you're failing. It's not _you_ anymore, is it?"

Natsu's mouth opened, a retort ready on his lips bit he glanced to the side. Closed his mouth. Looked at the other side. Frowned.

'Wasn't this room lighter?' He asked himself. 'Sure, it was dark but you could see definition, see what was where but now… now there are only shadows…'

"What? Cat got your tongue?" The dark reflection started snickering at the terrible joke.

"The room was lighter. What little light there was is disappearing…" Natsu whispered.

'Shit. That's… not good. No. I don't want to know what will happen when the light goes!' He screamed in his mind, panic gripping him tighter. 'It… it's scary…'

Tiredness fell on Natsu's limbs, making it feel as if he were even more confined, the panic not helping things much.

And then he snapped.

He knew he wasn't going to throw down his arms and let that thing win without a fight.

So Natsu had to struggle, to find a way to get out, to wake up, to find relief from the nightmare, as it _had_ to be it.

Only… he realized, too late, there really was no such thing.

Everything, all the horrors he saw…

They were the _reality_.

* * *

 _There was darkness._

 _Then, two shafts of light focused on two small altars. They were made of white marble with pink veins appearing at odd spaces. The columns were carved with swirly details that towards the top became leaves and other vegetable motifs. The top was polished and on top of each altar there sat a purple cushion. A glass cube sat on top, covering the whole top section._

 _In each cushion was a stone._

 _The one on the left was black as the one on the right was white._

 _Suddenly the lights flickered, the shaft of light focusing on the second stone started to diminish, as if disappearing._

 _On the other hand, from the little light still in the room, it was possible to see that the black stone was growing._

* * *

Natsu found himself sitting on the chaise-longue once again, only he was now leaning against the armrest, legs stretched out before him. His body was immobile, he couldn't move even though he tried. After a few moments he managed to free his neck from that invisible grasp, turning his head to the side as he heard a noise.

Distantly he noticed that the only minimally visible things were the chaise-longue, the coffee table and the mirror in front of him.

And the noise was coming from the mirror.

Natsu saw his dark reflection walking towards the mirror and then hop to his side, effectively crossing it, leaving ripples in the surface as silvery strands clung to the other's darkly clad body.

The evil-looking Natsu stood on the coffee table, walking lazily over it and, as he got to Natsu's sitting form, he straddled the fire mage, comfortably sitting on Natsu's legs.

"What do you think you're doing?" Natsu growled.

"I'm getting comfy, of course." He said with a large smile, his piercing glinting in the low light.

"No, I won't let you."

"Are you sure?" Natsu's dark reflection asked, languidly stretching his body above Natsu's leaving them half reclined, nearly no space between them. "But you saw how reality is now. And all by your fault."

That elicited a gasp from Natsu.

"No. Shut up!" The fire mage tried to struggle, though it was impossible to move.

"You won't have your friends. You saw to that." There was a sharp smile. "Let go. Come on, it'll be easier." The other said against Natsu's lips.

"I won't let go. You can stop that."

"I think I can change your mind anyway." The other said cajolingly.

"I don't see what you can do that – mphth!" Natsu's tirade was suddenly cut off when the other cradled his face in his hands and voraciously started kissing Natsu.

Natsu's whole body jolted as if it had been shocked. His dark counterpart didn't seem to mind, biting harshly on his lower lip and, as Natsu gasped, his tongue quickly invaded the fire mage's mouth. Natsu tried to fight back but his body was still bound by invisible chains. Distantly he noticed the unyielding quality of the metal against his lips. It was odd.

Suddenly Natsu realized that his torso was bare, the other's hands had started roaming the toned and golden skin, toying with his nipples until they were erect.

And Natsu realized that his body was quite _enjoying_ the other's ministrations. It was fucked up. But his dick was standing to attention.

It didn't go unnoticed to Natsu's dark counterpart as he teasingly lowered one of his hands, having it slide down the muscled abdomen and flutter on the beginning of the hipbones where his waistband was riding low.

Clever fingers started fondling Natsu through the fabric of his trousers, making delicious shivers run up and down the fire mage's spine.

Natsu's mouth moved, voiceless words and his eyes fluttered shut for a fraction of a second.

Two hands brutally curled around his neck, starting to squeeze fiercely.

His eyes shot open, Natsu's struggle against both the invisible bonds and the hands curled on his neck grew but it was for naught.

Natsu's dark reflection was too strong, had too much leverage.

As Natsu's vision started to swim, he could still see how his counterpart seemed to be growing, limbs becoming bigger and stronger, the sharpness in his features increasing as well as some scale-like touches appearing on his neck. The hands curled on his neck like vices also became sharper as the scent of blood was released into the air and space between them.

He was smirking, clearly enjoying what he was doing to Natsu.

And Natsu… the edges of his vision were darkening. It wasn't a good sign – and he knew it.

The other leaned down, so that his lips were right against the fire mage's ear.

"O ne moriar bis." The other uttered mockingly.

That didn't make sense to Natsu but, it was the last thing he heard.

Everything went black.

* * *

Natsu stood up.

He placed his hands on his hips and cracked his neck, then did some stretches, releasing the few kinks in his body.

A cruel smirk appeared on his lips as he looked around, surveying the carnage.

Taking a few steps toward the door he relished the crunching and squelching noises that came from underfoot.

He looked back, let out a chuckle.

"Well, who would've known?" He rubbed his hands distractedly against his hips then paused. His nose scrunched up in disgust. He pulled the scarf that was curled around his neck and threw it to a puddle of blood and another indiscernible things. "Filth…" He muttered before taking a deep breath, his good mood returning. "Time to see the world." He laughed gleefully. "This is going to be fun..."

* * *

Note: O ne moriar bis - O let me not die twice


End file.
